Five Grants to Help Fund Preschool and Head Start Programs

Early childhood education is an essential part of a child’s development. Research shows that children who attend preschool or government programs like head start tend to do better throughout their lives.

GrantWatch has a category specifically for preschool grants that also includes grants for Head Start and child care programs.

Benefits of Early Childhood Education

Preschool is one option to help children adapt to being in a school setting. Preschools may be publicly funded or privately operated and are usually for children ages 2 to 5 years old. A study in the journal Developmental Psychology showed that children who attended preschool were approximately eight months ahead of other children in academic learning and about five months ahead in executive function skills, such as listening, planning, and self-control.

W. Steven Barnett, the founder and senior co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University, noted the benefits of preschool in an article on the Learning Policy Institute website. “People who attend preschool are more productive in school, work, and society generally—with higher levels of education and earnings, less involvement in delinquency and crime, and fewer chronic health problems,” he said.

According to the Head Start Association, children in Head Start programs also scored better in both cognitive and social-emotional development. These programs get children comfortable in a social setting early on and can help them start working on skills they will need later on in life.

Providing Equal Access to All Children

As of 2019, in the United States, 61 percent of 3-5 years old were in school. However, children from middle-upper-class families are more likely (75%) to attend preschool than those from poorer families (48%).

Head Start programs are significant because they are specifically for children from low-income households who could otherwise not afford access. This includes children in foster care, homeless children, and children in families receiving public assistance.

Increasingly there are more options for parents outside of private preschool options like Head Start programs and public pre-K options. Forty-five states have some form of public pre-K programs, with Georgia, Florida, and Oklahoma having universal Pre-K options.

In order to keep these programs running, funding is crucial for supporting resources and equipment. Below, are five grants available on GrantWatch that help fund supplemental early childhood education/preschool programs.

Five Grants for Early Childhood Education Funding

1. In-kind grants of essential school supplies are available to USA teachers in underserved preschools and schools.
2. There are also in-kind grants of resources available to public elementary schools, Head Start programs, and preschools to implement STEM learning programs
3. Grants of up $1,000 are available to North Carolina preschools for programs related to agriculture and nutrition. 
4. Grants to Nebraska organizations, church schools, and preschools for programs that benefit residents in eligible counties. 
5. Grants of $1,000, training, and program support are available to Louisiana early childhood and childcare centers, libraries, Head Start programs, museums, schools, churches, and additional community organizations for literacy programs for children ages 3-5.

GrantNews Notes

If you’re looking for more grants like this, you can also check out GrantWatch’s categories for children and education.

With close to 8,000 grants currently available, GrantWatch.com is the leading grant listing directory. A MemberPlus+ subscription is required to view the full grant details, including the eligibility criteria and application information. For more information, you can also visit the GrantWatch FAQ page.